The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

  The other man held his tongue considering the revelation and still appeared unbelieving. After they had reached the bottom of the hill, he asked, "What should we do if the enemy attacks? We don't have a very large group, lieutenant. Even though we are skilled veterans, we can hardly hope do much damage to such a massive army."

  "We will still need to warn our king. The peregion may need to be used before we manage to find King Yled, when we get there they can send one of the others that are kept in the castle. First, however, we need more information about these invaders. They didn't look like the creatures at Turo from what I saw in the vision, but it wasn't as clear as my own eyes.

  "Have the men ready to ride for the castle, if we are discovered first," he added seeing the danger of getting closer to the horde. The standing order was passed back through the loosely formed column. Dante could sense their tension even though he hadn't turned around to face them. He had no more words to dismiss the feelings for them than he had for himself, but such feelings also kept a man alert and ready as well, the lieutenant believed.

  As they continued to move closer, Misery suddenly took flight again. The bird's path lay straight for the enemy. Dante motioned for Lane to come closer. "Take my reins."

  The sergeant glanced at him questioningly.

  "If the visions return with Misery's search, then I'll need you to guide my steed. I can see nothing else when it comes over me and we can't risk accidental discovery should I lose control of my direction."

  The sergeant looked at him doubtful of his sanity, but nodded obeisance. Dante looked up for the raven ahead and momentarily caught sight of the flight before the vision returned.

  Sprawled below him through the haze of rain, Dante could see the enemy. Their mass numbered in the hundreds. Occasional glints of metal within their ranks proved that they were more than just beasts. The creatures' forms were hard to make out through the haze of the water between the raven and the ground, but Dante thought that he could still catch sight of a few creatures that were the same as those at the battle after all. Most were more misshapen or had dark hair that formed pelts to resist the weather.

  The strangest thing the raven viewed was a much smaller group that had separated from the others. Nearly twenty dark robed figures stood in a circle in front of the mass. Dante didn't need to be a mage to know that such a formation had to involve sorcery.

  "Stop, Lane," Dante ordered the sergeant as he took in the information. "The enemy is up to something. They've got sorcerers in use here."

  "The sky is pitch black, sir. If you are right, then I believe that the storm is being formed by them for something."

  The vision link severed abruptly. Dante let out a breath that he had not known that he had been holding. The lieutenant turned wild eyed on his sergeant. "We've got to try to break up their circle and fast. Maybe we can buy the west army a chance to attack, because if the enemy is holding back like this then it must plan powerful sorcery, perhaps even strong enough to destroy the fortress."

  Lane looked around at the men surrounding them. "That could be suicide, sir. General Laban placed me as second in command to make sure that you would not kill us all by your inexperience."

  Anger filled Dante. His forehead knitted with determination. "You think that I'm inexperienced because I am choosing to risk my life to save those of the thousands within Peleth, sergeant? Lane, think. We have no other choice, but to try. You know the damage magic can do from the stories and we can’t let such a thing happen to the city.

  "If that is your fear, however, then I will make this mission voluntary. Those who think that I am wrong to try stopping the sorcerers can ride straight to the city to warn King Yled of the invasion forces arrayed against the castle, while I and any who would follow will try to disrupt their magic." He looked at the men. "Who is with me?"

  Dante was surprised to see three men come forward immediately. Corporal Warik followed by privates Riad and Volin were first. "We're with you, Lieutenant. We can see that you are right whether you are having visions or not. This is not a natural storm. Magic is the only thing that could cause such a turmoil of clouds," the corporal answered for himself and the others. "We'll follow you."

  Six more men fell in after Warik's words. Sergeant Lane was not one of them. Dante nodded to the men who would probably die with him trying to save the castle. He turned to Lane. "All right, sergeant, take the others to the city. Take the messenger bird with you. I'll be unable to protect it in battle. Warn King Druin no matter what happens to me." Returning his gaze to the nine men willing to follow him, he lifted his sword out of its sheath. In a loud voice he declared, "For Certe!"

  The men echoed his words and charged out after Dante, who had already spurred his horse into a gallop. They gave no backwards look to those who refused to follow. The others had their reasons. His remaining command knew that they would probably die, but if they could stop what they all felt was coming, it would be worth it.

  The ten men flew through stinging rain drops that fell among them so thick the men felt like they were swimming through the cascading torrents. They were also being driven by the need to act and that conquered the discomfort. Their mounts surged onward and began to rise from the final valley that had lain between them and the enemy. It was then that the horde of dark warriors finally noticed the valiant band.

  At first, surprise and indecision held the creatures back, but then several leaders cried out in a language that had never been heard within their world before and their followers charged to meet and cut them off. Dante had the lead and steered the men slightly away from the charging warriors. The lieutenant could tell that some of his men would probably be caught away from the circle they sought, but still they would try, he knew.

  Both parties were nearly on one another when a light flashed from above the castle. Thunder boomed through the air so strongly that Dante nearly lost control of his surprised steed. Another flash and another lanced downward striking into the castle. They were too far away to see the damage being caused, but the fury was not stopping even as they continued to ride forward. More and more lightning struck the city and its fortress, the lightning falling so thickly now that the bolts appeared to be one flickering beam that seemed to strike Peleth and its surroundings all at once. The earth buckled with the ferocity of the strikes and it was all anyone could do to maintain their balance.

  And that was probably what saved his command. Knowing that the castle would soon be laid waste, Dante shouted as loud as he could to retreat. He didn't know if the men could truly hear him, or if they had all seen the futility of continuing their attack, never the less, the nine men veered away as best they could. The dark creatures had halted their attack at the blinding light and tumbling earth, but the enemy leaders recovered quickly and sent the mass running after the band once more.

  Dante waved his men on as he dropped back slightly to cover the last of those that had followed. The dark warriors caught and drew down the last of his brave riders. The man was lost to sight instantly along with his horse and there was nothing that he could do to stop them. The monsters killed both without mercy as more of their pack continued to pursue the remaining men.

  Riding at the rear of the fleeing band with two others, they were finally forced to fend off the quickest of the pursuers. Dante's sword lashed out with no regard to what he struck. The other men were far enough from him that he could not have struck one if he had tried. The same separation left each man to fend for himself, however, making him an easier target as well. He fought on as his mount continued to try and pull away from the creatures of two and four legs. Some attacked with tooth and claw. A few others had weapons of metal or clubs of wood. A few arrows flew past as their archers shot for the few men amongst their comrades. Dante realized just how little the dark beasts cared for their own as one of creatures nearest him cried out with a stray arrow through its throat.

  Dante looked for the other men of his command. The two stragglers had fallen to the mas
s leaving just him and his steed. Clawed hands, or perhaps paws, tried again to drag him down. More and more were starting to try for him. His sword again and again lashed out to save him from their claws.

  He thought that he would be pulled down when suddenly Sergeant Lane was beside him hacking away with his sword. The beasts fell back in surprise as several of Lane's band shattered the rush with a counter attack of their own.

  "What are you doing here?" Dante asked as they all continued their flight towards the castle.

  "The castle has fallen. Peleth is no more," the sergeant answered even as he kicked a monster away that had the appearance much like that of a wolf. "Where do we go now?"

  With little deliberation, Dante replied, "Southwest towards Valos. There are fewer people to lead this horde to. We can loop around when they finally give up their chase."

  "Southwest!" Lane shouted ahead to the nearest man, who in turn shouted ahead to others. Soon the remainder of the platoon was all on a race to clear the remains of the smoldering capitol city.

  The creatures began to fall back slightly as their strength began to fail them. They had been using every last bit of their speed to catch up to the horses which were able to hold just under their best pace as their riders were able to defend them both. Dante signaled the men to slow slightly to conserve the animals’ energy. They were powerful steeds, but even the war horses had their limits and were already breathing heavily.

  For several miles, the creatures continued to pursue them doggedly. Finally, as Dante had hoped, the last of them gave up the chase. Dante led the riders to the Lethian Woods which were only a half mile from them now. The command that remained followed Dante deep within the protective cover of the trees. Even then, he continued to push them on until they found a stream. There the men dropped exhaustedly from their saddles. The horses had been walking since they had entered the forest and were thus less spent than they might have been, but the animals were quick to make use of the cool waters.

  The men drank from canteens or simply fell exhausted to the earth. Dante found that he was not exhausted at all, though the soldier had been through the worst of the fighting. Several cuts and scrapes could be seen through torn clothing that had been washed clean by the rain. He looked at them and wondered at his strength. Rather than exhaustion, he seemed to be energized. Dante gave up the feeling as being caused by adrenaline and shoved his worries aside. He would tire sooner or later, but for now he made use of that energy to see to the needs of the wounded and set up guards for protection as well as tending the fine animals that had carried them all.

  Sergeant Lane came to him then. "There are only eleven of us left now, Lieutenant."

  "I thought that I counted twelve," Dante stated in numb reply.

  "Ettard was found dead in his saddle. An arrow in his side must have let him bleed to death though we tried to wrap it when we reached the forest. He was alive then, but..."

  Dante nodded sadly. "Corporal Warik, Riad, Volin, Hirais, Erphen, Uilen, Terlen, Aigen, Gilel, myself, and you, of course. I am afraid that I have not led as well as I had hoped. Do we still have the peregion?"

  "Yes, sir, on my mount."

  "Get it."

  The sergeant did as he was told and brought the bird to him. Dante noticed that the rain had let up. The storm was no longer necessary to the dark army and had finished blowing itself out to the east. Taking a piece of paper that had been provided, Dante wrote, `Peleth lost to magic. Will try to return. Lt. Betrice.'

  As the messenger bird lifted away, Dante felt a flood of despair wash over him. If the enemy could destroy Peleth so easily, what would happen to the rest of Certe? There might not be any home for any of them by the time they returned.

  A dark blur above the trees signaled the return of Misery.

  Chapter 9- Darius

  Light struck through an opening in the leafy canopy of Hameyl's forest. The fog of unconsciousness lifted as Darius looked bleary eyed at the surrounding trees. It took him only a moment before he realized that he was not alone.

  "I see that you are awake, human," a familiar voice told him. "For all your threats, I see that I was correct. You are young and foolish in your use of power."

  Darius sat up and looked over at the elf lord known as Janus Orfrost. "My power is great enough and my authority comes from my teachers that you struck down."

  Janus wore a cloth tunic and pants of darkest blue as he sat atop a log looking down on the apprentice. "We only harmed one wizard. The trolls took the other from you not us. We found the other's remains in the woods and I already explained the incident of the other to you. As to your implied authority, I dispute that you have any real impact with your land."

  "Yet you gave in to my demands as I recall," the human smiled smugly. "Admit it. I can tap into power that you can only dream of, Janus."

  "I admit nothing. I am one of the twelve holy knights of Alfar. Our powers served the elf kings for millennia uncontested."

  "I contested you."

  The elf only snorted in reply.

  "Why are you here anyway, Janus? If you are so important to your kings of Alfar, then why are you here?"

  The elf's face darkened angrily. He arose and left Darius without answering. The apprentice looked about and found several dozen elves moving about around him. Many were men clad in the same outfits of green and brown that the elves he had faced earlier had worn. The men not dressed alike talked with women of varying outfits. They almost all wore long dresses which Darius found oddly out of place in the woods surrounding them. Surprising him the most were the children. Nearly a dozen including two babies in their mother's arms were running and playing quietly. These were not the army of invaders that he had come to expect of an elf lord attacking a new country or dimension. The pieces did not fit.

  A few of the children had discovered him awake and came to take a look at him.

  “What are you?" one little girl asked curiously. Her friends all looked alarmed at her brazenness.

  Darius smiled, "A human wizard. My name is Darius. What is yours?"

  The girl giggled. Darius took in her appearance: small, petite, a pixie with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her skin was lightly colored with tan. She looked oddly familiar.

  "Nikkowl! Get away from the man," Electra's voice ordered as she stalked into the clearing. The little girl looked up at the woman coming towards her and Darius picked up the similarities immediately.

  Nikkowl stood her ground defiantly as the woman came for her. "No. I like him."

  "I didn't ask if you wanted to stay. Now get away and go play with your friends," Electra pointed towards the other end of the clearing.

  The little girl turned to him with a wide smile, "See you later, Darius."

  "I hope she didn't bother you," the elf woman apologized.

  "Not at all. Is she yours?"

  A look of shock and alarm crossed Electra's face, "Heavens, no. I think that I would kill myself if I had a child like her. No, she's my little sister."

  Darius laughed. The woman seemed to question the laughter with more seriousness than he believed possible. He had a brother that was younger than he and wondered if he had to deal with him more would he feel the same way as the elf. Casting the thought aside, Darius said, "She's a lot like you I think. She definitely has the same brass."

  Making an unhappy face, the woman replied, "Take that back. She's a pain."

  He shook his head and said laughingly, "Your mother must go through hell with children like you. I noticed that she has the same curiosity about humans that you do."

  "What do you mean?" the pretty elf asked guardedly.

  "If you hadn't been curious, I think that you would have left me for the trolls. By the way, thanks for trying to save me."

  The woman looked embarrassed, "It wouldn't be good to start off relations between our peoples by letting one die if the death could be averted."

  "Relations? Janus didn't tell me why your people are here. I had thought that maybe
you were scouts for a larger party, but that's not the case is it?"

  A look of loss passed over her eyes. Electra appeared wary as well. Darius thought the girl wouldn’t tell him anymore either as she looked away from him, when suddenly the elf spoke softly, "Our people were driven from our land. The trolls that came through after us are part of the forces sent against us. Their numbers were too much for our castle's defenders. We escaped with those we could through the gateway to your world."

  Darius attempted to keep up and asked, "I haven't seen any other royalty besides Janus. Did your king's family escape through as well?"

  "Oh, it wasn't our king's castle. No royalty ruled there. It was really more of a town fortress really. If the holy knight hadn't come to the frontier with a band of hunters, our town would have perished."

  "He formed the gateway?"

  She nodded. "The armor he wears is a key to other dimensions. That is the responsibility that he bears as do the other twelve. That is why the Dark Emperor has been sending his minions to attack so many of our cities,

  Janus says. The Alfar aren't enough of a challenge anymore The Dark One wants other worlds to conquer as well."

  "Where did this Dark Emperor come from, Electra?"

  At that question Electra's shoulders stooped even more. "I don't know if Janus would allow me to tell you such a thing. Why don't you tell me of your world instead?"

  Darius shrugged, "What is there to tell? Men and women of human stock living in cities and farms living out their lives. Six continents, one of which is rumored to be ice. Our world isn't that unusual except maybe the fact that we get fractures like your portals every so often. Does your Dark Emperor know how to open doorways to follow you yet?"

  Electra shrugged, mirroring his earlier movement. "We assume that he can't since he seems to be searching for the holy knights. I know little of magic though."